Many people lack a factual understanding of events in our region because the media report them inadequately. We blog here because our daughter Malki, murdered at the age of 15 in a restaurant massacre in Jerusalem, was a victim of jihadist hatred and barbarism. For jihadism and terrorism to end in Israel, New York, Madrid, London and everywhere else, people first need to understand the scale on which it is happening and why. This ongoing war is killing us.

Friday, November 16, 2012

16-Nov-12: Friday midday update

Here's an updated brief snapshot at 1:00 pm on a sunny but extremely tense Friday.

It continues to rain rockets here. The official IDF talley is 67 Palestinian Arab rockets, fired from Gaza, that struck Israel today. They continue to be fired at us with all the power that the terrorists can summon up.

The total since Wednesday is 335.

The Iron Dome system intercepted 55 rockets in mid-air, today alone. (That number and the others above have almost certainly grown since we started writing this post.)

If Israelis expected the rate at which the terrorist forces in Gaza fire rockets into the cities, towns and farming communities of southern Israel to diminish after the events of Wednesday evening, it is not working out that way. Homefront Defense Minister Avi Dichter, quoted in Times of Israel this morning, says we should expect "hundreds of rockets per day to be launched at Israel from Gaza over the coming days".

Al Ahram, the official news channel of the Egyptian government, is saying his visit this morning was (a) "to show solidarity with the besieged coastal enclave", to voice "unconditional Egyptian support for the Palestinians", (c) "to intensify Cairo's efforts to secure a truce and end Israel's "aggression"" [Aggression in the Al Ahram version appears in quotation marks, which is almost refreshing.] And "he will also, according to sources involved in preparing his trip, avoid escalatory language".

The IDF's Givati brigade is making no secret of its plans to be part of a comprehensive land-based invasion of Gaza as soon as the top brass gives the order. Over at YouTube, there's a very brief (half minute long) video of the preparations.

EU minister of foreign affairs Catherine Ashton issued a statement at noon today saying how "deeply concerned at the escalating violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip" she is. She deplores the loss of civilian lives on both sides. Hamas rocket attacks "which began this current crisis are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop. Israel has the right to protect its population from these kinds of attacks. I urge Israel to ensure that its response is proportionate.”

A civilian vehicle came under fire from the Gazan side at Nahal Oz, southern Israel, in the late morning. Turns out one of the passengers (or the driver) was a Reuters employee who is lightly wounded. [Maan has some coverage.]

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard has condemned the attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip. She is quoted saying "the rocket attacks will not help the Palestinian campaign for self-determination.... The government condemns the repeated rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip and calls on Hamas to cease these immediately. Australia supports Israel's right to defend itself against these indiscriminate attacks. Such attacks on Israel's civilian population are utterly unacceptable.''

John Lyons, reporting for The Australian newspaper from Jerusalem, says that in the longer term, "Australia, which takes up a seat on the Security Council next year, would back steps towards a negotiated two-state outcome as the only genuine means of preventing the recurrence of violence."

It's Friday, the Moslem sabbath. In Iran, worshippers by the thousand have taken to the streets of Tehran after Friday prayers to protest “Zionist crimes in Gaza” according to the Fars News Agency. They are chanting “death to Israel” and “death to America.” Similar protests are reportedly taking place at various other cities across the country.

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THIS ONGOING WAR is not part of the activity of the Malki Foundation which was founded by us, Frimet and Arnold Roth of Jerusalem. But it is inspired by the same tragic circumstances. Keren Malki is a memorial to the life of our daughter, Malki (that's her in the photo below this paragraph), who was murdered at the age of 15 in a massacre in the centre of Jerusalem carried out by Hamas. Beyond its function as a remembrance of a beautiful life, Keren Malki daily provides tangible, concrete, invaluable support to several thousand Israeli families of every part of the religious and socio-economic spectrum, including Christian, Moslem, Jewish, Druze and others, who care at home for a seriously disabled child. Email us at thisongoingwar@gmail.com

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It's the foundation we, the bloggers who create the content at This Ongoing War, established back in 2001 in memory of our murdered daughter. Her name is Malki.

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This Ongoing War: About this blog

Many people lack a factual understanding of events in our region because the media often report them inadequately. Our daughter Malki, murdered at the age of 15 in a restaurant massacre in Jerusalem, was a victim of jihadist hatred and barbarism. For jihadism and terrorism to end in Israel, in New York, in Madrid, in London and everywhere else, people first need to understand the scale on which it is happening. This ongoing war is killing us.